Happy New Year! (aka, It's a Girl!)

Just wanted to wish everyone (all 6 of you who read this) a Happy New Year! Hope you all have nice plans. Though no one's plans will be as nice as my good friends Jen and Mike in Hamilton, who are the proud brand-new parents of little Allison Hayley. Allison was due to arrive tomorrow, Jan. 1, but decided yesterday that she'd had enough and was born at 8:05 p.m., December 30, at a respectable 7 pounds 8 ounces (after less than 12 hours of labour, I might add). Poor Jen had to have a C-section and so is spending New Year's Eve and Day at the hospital. However, I suspect that despite this, she's happy to be there. She emailed me a few days ago and mentioned that she was hoping to ring in the New Year by holding a newborn baby, and well, she got her wish!